Territorial Turf Wars: Defending Governor Stevens
A heated dispute between the Pioneer and The Oregonian over legislative representation and political representation in early Washington Territory.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The insinuations and charges made against Gov. Stevens contained in the above, are grossly and palpably false, and the communication of the Oregonian—'Tom Water'—is but a tissue of falsehood and misrepresentation from beginning to end. It is not true that 'a small county on the Sound is represented as largely as a much more populous one on the Columbia river.' We have already stated that the proclamation calling the election, was issued the next day after the arrival of Gov. Stevens—that it was made from such facts and information as so short a space of time would allow, and that it was an oversight or error in requiring that poll-books be returned to the Secretary of the Territory instead of the county clerk within five days after the election.
“So think he will stop his grumbling writing for a time.”
This 1854 editorial mirrors the long-standing political divide between the urban population centers around the Puget Sound and the communities along the Columbia River. The debate over fair legislative representation and census-based power continues to be a central theme in Washington State’s legislative sessions today.
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